Common Fishing Lures Categories

There are a variety of different fishing lures today it’s hard to keep track of them, all in different shapes sizes and colors and most avid anglers have quite a selection in their tackle box. when you go fishing you want to be sure you have the right one for the job but with so many to choose from how do you pick the best one?
This article is written with the intention of listing as many available lure types you might want to include in your list of fishing gear.

Fishing lures are commonly put into categories prior to how they work, or on their physically defining features. Here are some of the categories of fishing lures available today; surface lures, spoons, spinnerbaits,jigs,softbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits.

Soft BaitsThese are soft rubber baits that could look like fish, long worms or frogs or a bunch of other shapes. Usually these are used with a weighted jig head and retreat slowly or in a jerky motion.

Soft plastic baits are any of a range of plastic-based fishing lures, termed so because of their soft, flexible rubber texture. Created to imitate small fish or other natural aquatic food sources, their realistic texture and versatility, combined with simple and economical production has led them to become a standard lure of modern fishing tackle. Soft plastics are available in a wide range of colours, sizes and particularly shapes. Very effective for pike and musky.

Jerk BaitsJerk baits don’t have any movement on their own but need the angler to jerk them and bring them to life like a injured fish or worm. You throw them into the water and then do a jerky motion with your fishing rod which simulates the movements of an wounded fish making it look like a tasty tit bit to the fish you are trying to attract.

All jerk baits have a some characteristics which set them apart from all other fishing lures. Jerk baits are slender for their length, showing an ideal profile for a lurking predator looking for a quick meal. Although all jerk baits are high floaters, they all trigger the bite while submerged, which seperates them from a pure surface lure. All of the hard baits have some sort of lip to pull the bait underwater, similar as a crankbait. But the factor that sets them apart from other lures is the way they are worked.

To get the most out of a jerk bait, you use the fishing rod in short or long jerks without retrieving. This rod action is what gives jerk baits their name, and their action underwater.These baits are super effective to pike and musky.

Surface LuresThese are fishing lures that you reel along the surface of the water and are fun to use since the fish explodes up out of the water in order to take in the bait and really gets the adrenaline going. When a fish hits one of these lures it makes a great show So much so that most anglers try to set the hook right away, when hesitating for a second or two is the best way to ensure the fish has the lure.

They are great if one are fishing in waters that have a lot of weeds since they remain on the top and are less likely to get tangled in the grass. Topwater lures come in all sorts of colors and shapes and it’s fun to pick them out in the tackle shop and find the ones that work best for you.Especially fun to use for pike and musky as these fish attacks with fierce and power.

Spoons
Spoons are a just a metal lure that looks like a spoon. When you reel them they make a wobbling motion which is attractive to most fish. They are inexpensive and fairly easy to use so a great choice for young and beginners.
If you plan on fishing in places that are highly vegetated, then using spoons is a good idea. Spoons are commonly used on pike and musky and are used with either long casts or by trolling a boat along the weed line. Fishing Spoons that are known by a great number of anglers include the Red Daredevil, Five of Diamonds, and Little Cleo brand spoons.
Red and white seems to be a attractive color combination for pike and musky.

Spinner Baits
This type of fishing lure has one blade or two that rotates and the rotating motion gives off a reflection which imitates the light glinting off of fish scales in the water. When you are retrieving a spinnerbait, you can alter the speed that you retrieve thus making it look like an wounded fish. If you’re fishing for pike a large spinner can be successful but if you go in for mullet or trout try a much smaller size.

There are even some sorts of fishing lures that you can purchase that will make noise when they are used. These lures are great for fishing in waters that are muddy and dark, since the fish may not be able to see the bait properly. This will allow them to hear your spinner, which really can help you to catch more fish in these types of situations.

These baits vary in size and color as most lures do, but as earlier said they have a spinning blade or two just behind the eyelet, a bell shaped body, and a treble hook which sometimes includes a bit of fur or feather as added enticement.

CrankBaitsThis category of fishing lures sinks into the water after you cast and can dive into depths up to 15 feet or more. Each floor is designed for a various depth and this depends on the angle of the lure. A lure with a smaller angle will dive deeper than a lure with a larger angle. Depending on the depth of the water that your target fish appears in will dictate the sort of lure you use.

Crankbait lures are also plugs designed mainly to imitate bait-fish and crawfish and they have to be actively reeled in to activate them. Many of them rely upon a cupped “lip” or “bill” that makes them wobble when reeled in. Those without a lip are surface plugs which struggle and splash at the surface.

The size and form of the lip determines how deep the plug will go when retrieved. A rule here is that the longer the lip, the deeper the plug will dive, and the shorter the lip, the shallower the lure will go. The convexity of the lip makes the wobble. The more convex the lip, the more wobbling action the lure will achieve. The less convexity the lip has the less it wobbles. It’s this side-to-side wobble that causes the crank bait appear to be alive and swimming. An exaggerated wobble makes the crank bait appear that it is injured and struggling with much effort to swim. Fish are attracted to this way of swimming because they have instinctively learned that it will be an easy catch.

Crank bait’s lips are typically made of clear plastic. This makes them hard to see on struggling crank bait. Crank baits come in a wide range of finishes and colors. Alot of them are painted in colors and patterns that closely mimic shad, bass, bluegill, trout, and crawfish.

Commonly, crank bait floats at rest and the lip causes it to dive when retrieved. This makes not only for a great stop-and-go action, but helps prevent snags. The lip also orients the crank bait so its lip is much deeper than its hooks. This helps make the hooks snag-less. So one can crank it over rocks and sunken logs.

Jigs
Jigs are one of the most effective fishing lures today, especially in water clarities from slightly murky to clear, in water temperatures below the sixty degree mark and when pike are in an inactive modus and buried in deep cover. Jigs are presentation lures and the key factor to fishing them is to make them appear as much alive as possible. This is achieved through a slow presentation.
A jig is a heavy, lead-headed lure with a single hook. An attracting skirt or trailer is attached to the hook. With a good weedguard, they can be worked effectively in dense cover where big pike live. They are subtle and discrete and move into big-pike territory without making a lot of disturbance, as would a live crawfish or baitfish. And once hooked, the pike has a harder time throwing the single-hook jig than it would a treble-hook lure. A pork or plastic trailer is often added to these fishing lures.

In clear water conditions, light colors (white, chartreuse, green) tend to work best. Transparent jig skirts and transparent crawfish-type trailers cast less of a silhouette and are less threatening to frighten pike. In darker water, black, brown, purple and contrasting dark colors often produce best. The trailer (plastic or pork rind) color can be altered to vary the appearance of the lure quickly and economically.